Saturday, October 07, 2006

Centella asiatica

This plant and its preparation have been in use since ancient times especially in the Ayurvedic medical system of India and in the folk medicine of China and Madagascar. The outstanding importance of the usage of this plant in the tradition medicine of India is implicated by its Indian name "Brahmi" which means 'bringing knowledge to the supreme reality" and it has long been used for its medicinal properties and as and aid to meditation. It is recomended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the most important medicinal plant species to be conserved and cultivated. In Malaysia, although it has been used by our traditional healers in their herbal remedies, but its popularity is confined more as traditional vegetable or 'ulam' especially among the Malay communities rather than a medicinal plant.
Centella asiatica or the local name 'pegaga' grows wildly under a wide range of conditions, some races prefer light shade, while other do well in open sunny areas. Some even grow under more harch conditions like on stone walls. In the wild, most of these plant are found in wet or moist surroundings like swamps, along the margins of lakes, ponds and have also been seen growing in paddy fields.
Pegaga easily propagated asexually by using rhizomes/runners with at least 2 nodes. Although the plant can be grown in full sun but most of their races prefer at least light shade and moist soil. Growth is favoured in sandy loam with high organic matter. Harvesting can be recomended after 60 days of planting. The whole plant is normally harvest when the reach full size.

1 comment:

cherisha said...

I'm a student from USM, Malaysia.I have a friend who is a PhD student is doing a research on ulams. He would like to cultivate these ulams to ease him in doing the research but he has difficulty in finding the seeds of ulam. I would like to know if you have information on how to get the seeds of ulam. Your help is very much appreciated. This is my email cheepl83@yahoo.com. Thank you.